Kin Marriages In 19th Century Catalonia (With Reference To Findings From The Barcelona Historical Marriage Database)

In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council forbid marriages among relatives up to the fourth level of consanguinity and second level of affinity. This norm was valid until the early 20th century. It is striking that, in spite of the strength and persistence of the prohibition, consanguineous and affine marriages were not uncommon, and their frequency even increased during the 19th century in some countries. This occurred when the demographic transition, industrialisation, and migration from the countryside to the cities favoured exogamous marriages. The demographic factors causing the rise of kinship marriages could be related to the presence of more relatives in the marriage market due to more persons reaching marriageable ages. Migration to the cities and agrarian capitalism contributed to restructuring land ownership, generating new family alliances in order to obtain more control over the land and to increase the workforce of the households. Together with that, the secularisation of civil regulations about inheritance changed the conception of relationships among brothers and sisters, who were now considered independent persons and not only of the 'same blood'. Moreover, the blood relatives of the spouse were now considered legal marriage candidates, when developing strategies to follow the ecclesiastical prescriptions.Kinship marriages were also possible because specific exceptions were allowed. The most frequent one was the so-called angustia loci, which permitted a kin marriage when the couple was living in a village with fewer than 1,500 inhabitants or fewer than 300 families. Another common exception was the aetas superadulta, which allowed women aged between 25 and 50 years to marry a relative in case they had not found a husband previously, moreover, the lack of dowry or the risk of incest were also considered reasons for a marriage within the family.This research specifically focuses on affinity in the Barcelona area during the 19th century, using the information contained in the recently created Barcelona Historical Marriage Database (BHMD). Responding to strategies or to simple adaptations, unions among in-laws could adopt several forms. The authors explore two such forms: 1) simultaneous marriages of two or more couples of siblings; 2) marriages of widowers or widows with the sister or brother of their deceased spouses (levirate and sororate).